Pathfinder; or, the inland sea eBook

“This may be all right, Mr. Muir, though, if
the whole is accidental, the flag might be the occasion
of the fort’s being discovered.”

Mabel stayed to utter no more; but she was soon out
of sight, running into the hut towards which she had
been first proceeding. The Quartermaster remained
on the very spot and in the precise attitude in which
she had left him for quite a minute, first looking
at the bounding figure of the girl and then at the
bit of bunting, which he still held before him in
a way to denote indecision. His irresolution
lasted but for this minute, however; for he was soon
beneath the tree, where he fastened the mimic flag
to a branch again, though, from his ignorance of the
precise spot from which it had been taken by Mabel,
he left it fluttering from a part of the oak where
it was still more exposed than before to the eyes
of any passenger on the river, though less in view
from the island itself.

CHAPTER XXI.

Each one has had his supping mess,
The cheese is put into the press,
The pans and bowls, clean scalded all,
Reared up against the milk-house wall.
COTTON.

It seemed strange to Mabel Dunham, as she passed along
on her way to find her female companion, that others
should be so composed, while she herself felt as if
the responsibilities of life and death rested on her
shoulders. It is true that distrust of June’s
motives mingled with her forebodings; but when she
came to recall the affectionate and natural manner
of the young Indian girl, and all the evidences of
good faith and sincerity she had seen in her conduct
during the familiar intercourse of their journey, she
rejected the idea with the unwillingness of a generous
disposition to believe ill of others. She saw,
however, that she could not put her companions properly
on their guard without letting them into the secret
of her conference with June; and she found herself
compelled to act cautiously and with a forethought
to which she was unaccustomed, more especially in
a matter of so much moment.

The soldier’s wife was told to transport the
necessaries into the blockhouse, and admonished not
to be far from it at any time during the day.
Mabel did not explain her reasons. She merely
stated that she had detected some signs in walking
about the island, which induced her to apprehend that
the enemy had more knowledge of its position than
had been previously believed, and that they two at
least, would do well to be in readiness to seek a refuge
at the shortest notice. It was not difficult
to arouse the apprehension of this person, who, though
a stout-hearted Scotchwoman, was ready enough to listen
to anything that confirmed her dread of Indian cruelties.
As soon as Mabel believed that her companion was
sufficiently frightened to make her wary, she threw
out some hints touching the inexpediency of letting
the soldiers know the extent of their own fears.